*Note: I season with a little salt about every other ingredient, not a lot, just a pinch.

In a wok or straight sided sautè pan, add a tsp of oil and sauteed diced half of onion until soft, add garlic, ginger, and chili flake. Sautè until fragrant, then add rice cauliflower. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, until it loses its raw appearance/texture. Remove from pan and set aside. Return pan to heat and add another tsp of oil. Add sliced half of onion and sautè for a min or two. Add mushrooms, then broccoli, followed by carrots, cashew, and finally pineapple- allowing each ingredient to cook for about a minute before adding the next. Add back the seasoned cauliflower and stir to combine. Taste for salt, remove from heat and sprinkle each bowl with a little tamari (or soy sauce) if you like.

This 7th day of the 7th month, 7 hours ago, Paradise Lost posted the first single off the upcoming album, Medusa. Nick said:

“I read a story about how wildlife was once beginning to flourish in the 30 mile exclusion zone after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 – particularly the wolf population.

It was nice to think that that no matter how much mankind tried to fuck the planet up directly or indirectly, life carries on in some shape or form. But humans are humans and I recently heard that there is already now ‘timed’ hunting trips organised into the exclusion zone…”

A comment by JD Mumma (I’ve saved this so long I can’t figure out if the whole thing is) :

A) the omnivore diet shows a 39% deficiency in B12 (http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2000/000802.htm), their diet is massively supplemented with vitamins, including B12 (a simply scan of most food labels verifies this fact), and

B) most farmed animals are often supplemented with B12 or cobalt (a nutrient that is essential for cattle to create B12 from bacteria in their rumen), primarily diet to a grain based diet and reduction of cobalt in the soil from over grazing and lack of soil enrichment.

The below quotes and link are offered as my ‘burden-of-proof’ that farmed animals are given supplements:
“The lack of a trace mineral, cobalt, can result in a vitamin B12 deficiency in cattle. This is because cobalt is a part of the vitamin B12 compound and is essential for rumen bacteria to manufacture this vitamin.” http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2008/October/CT1772.shtml

“Vitamin B12 is manufactured by rumen bacteria. It contains a trace mineral, cobalt, which must be provided in the diet. Cobalt concentrations in feeds are not well known and therefore ruminant diets are supplemented with cobalt at approximately 0.1 ppm to ensure adequate production of vitamin B12, which is too costly to add directly to feedlot diets. Vitamin B12 is the only B-vitamin stored in substantial amounts in the liver. When animals are transported or stressed, the break down of body tissue, including liver, increases blood concentrations of vitamin B12. Ruminal production of vitamin B12 is lowest, and production of B12 analogs is highest, on grain diets compared to forage diets. Vitamin B12 deficiency is unlikely unless diets are deficient in cobalt for a prolonged period. The symptoms can include poor appetite, retarded growth, and poor condition.”

“Once the rumen becomes functional, bacterial synthesis is considered to supply the normal requirement of cattle for B-vitamins. Milk is a source of B-vitamins for the calf. But while the rumen provides for much of the cows B vitamin requirements, many circumstances indicate a need for supplementation. …
“The lack of a trace mineral, cobalt, can result in a vitamin B12 deficiency in cattle. This is because cobalt is a part of the vitamin B12 compound and is essential for rumen bacteria to manufacture this vitamin…” http://www.cattletoday.com

A B12 blood test is common but not deemed as very accurate. More accurate is to test for MMA (an amino acid) in urine. MMA is elevated when usable B12 is low.
There are several ways to get B12 for vegans (in no specific orer)
1. Skin patch
2. Intramuscular injection
3. Sublingual pill (sub-lip is more even more effective)
4. Oral spray
5. Swallowing a pill (LEAST absorption) especially noneffective if people have existing low intrinsic factor

Direct Testing of B12 levels:
1) B12 levels in serum – Blood test for B12 levels is not the most accurate way to test for B12 levels.
One of the main reasons this test method is unreliable (false positives and false-negatives) is that it cannot distinguish B12 from B12 analogues – of particular importance since many vegans consume foods/products with B12 and B12 analogues* (e.g. spirulina, seaweed…).

2) Holotranscobalamin – This is considered the most accurate test because it measure ‘active B12’

Indirect Testing of B12 levels:
3) MMA levels is considered by many the best – uMMA (Urinary methyl malonic acid) found to be more sensitive/accurate than sMMA (serum methyl malonic acid)
Two additional great features of uMMA testing is low cost (I have seen prices as low as $40 and as high as $200) and ease (just pee a sample cup and send to the lab!)

4) Homocysteine in serum – homocysteine levels elevate for many reasons and one is when B12 levels are low.

I have found the vegan community fraught with: myths, misinformation, mis-interpretations, guessing, half-truths, ignorance, fallacies, poor science, propaganda… My hundreds of hours of study and research indicated that this is a MAJOR topic that needs to clarified and addressed, and for many corrected.